Method of reproducing the human foot or any of the toes thereof by means of a preshaped flexible form impregnated with material capable of setting hard upon the application of moisture



April 22, 1952 FRIEDMAN 2,593,742

METHOD OF REPRODUCING THE HUMAN FOOT OR ANY OF THE. TOES THEREOF BY MEANS OF A PRESHAPED FLEXIBLE FORM IMPREGNATED WITH MATERIAL CAPABLE OF SETTING HARD UPON THE APPLICATION OF MOISTURE Filed Aug. 2, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 FIG. I.

' I INVENTOR. David Friedman ATTORNEYS.

Aprll 22, 1952 .1 FRIEDMAN 2,593,742

METHOD OF REPRODUCING THE HUMAN FOOT OR ANY OF THE- TOES THEREOF BY MEANS OF A PRESHAPED FLEXIBLE FORM IMPREGNATED WITH MATERIAL CAPABLE OF SETTING HARD UPON THE APPLICATION OF MOISTURE Filed Aug. 2, 1948 v 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 INVENTOR. David Friedman Patented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED s'ra'rss are David Friedman, Chicago, Ill. Application August 2, 1948, Serial No. 41,955

'2 Claims. 1

The primary objectof this invention is the provision of an improved method of reproducing, as by casting, the human foot or any of the toes thereof, by means of a novel pre-shaped flexible form impregnated with material capable of setting hard upon the application of water or other desirable moisture.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a method reproducing the human foot or any of the parts thereof hru the application of a pre-shaped pocketed fie le loosely woven form upon the foot or toe, having impregnated therewith plaster-of-Paris or some other material capable of setting hard upon the application of water, and thereafter applying water and intimately molding the form to the contour of the foot or toe. The form is permitted to harden on the foot or toe and thereafter it is removed as a negative of the foot or toe for the preparation therefrom of a cast positive from which a shoe or necessary orthopedic applian es may be provided.

In the art relating to chiropody, etc. it is customary to provide a molded form from which a foot or any of the toes thereof may be cast by providing strips or separate pieces of crinoline impregnated with plaster-of-Paris, immersing the same in water and then placing them upon the bare foot or toe until the desired thickness of material has been secured. Thru finger action the operator then molds the same by manipulation until the complementary pieces attain the desired contour of the part to be molded, and after hard setting the same is removed for preparation of the positive casting. This operation is extremely messy, tedious; bothersome; time-consuming and inconvenient. To obviate these disadvantages, I have prepared a pro-shaped slipper or pocketed form (constructed in any approved manner, as by sewing) of flexible porous textile or other material such as crinoline or cheesecloth and impregnated the same with some preferably comminuted ma terial which will harden upon the application of water, such as plaster-of-Paris. This pro-shaped slipper or pocketed form, whether it be for the entire foot or one of the toes thereof, in its dry condition is then placed upon the foot or toe and water is applied to the same. Of course the bond forming material, such as plaster-of-Paris, will work into a creamy consistency and in this manner the slipper or pocketed article or form is molded upon the foot or desired toe into contour intimacy with the foot or toe. When this condition has been attained the form is permitted to harden. After setting, the same is removed thru any of the methods known to those skilled in the art and the positive may be cast therefrom. I

In the drawings, wherein for the purpose "of illustration is shown several forms of the invention- Figure l is a perspective view of a preshaped slipper of a nature adapted to be applied upon either foot.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken longitudinally thru the slipper of Figure 1 substantially on the line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a. perspective view of the form after intimate molding too. hard setting condition upon the iootof the individual; the same of course hav ing been removed.

Figure 4 is a view of the positive which has been cast from the mold of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a preshaped pocketed member, which so far as this invention is concerned can also be termed a slipper, adapted for application upon the big toe of the foot.

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view taken thru the pocketed member of Figure 5 substantially on the line 66 thereof. I

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the negative which has been molded out of the pocketed form of Figure 5 and permitted to harden.

Figure 8 is a positive which has been cast from the mold of Figure 7 In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts thruout the several views, the letter A may generally designate a slipper of some flexible porous material, such as crinoline or loosely woven cheesecloth or other material, preshaped as by sewing or otherwise to provide a bottom wall l9, side walls I I, rear wall l2 and instep wall l4 pocketed at [5 to receive the instep and toes of the foot. These can be so formed that the slipper will be capable of application to either the right orthe left foot of the wearer or, if desired, a side wall and the bottom wall of the foot may be suitably arched to provide rights and lefts, altho, since the form of the slipper will be altered after application in molded form upon the foot, the fashioning of these Walls in the flexible preshaped form is not absolutely necessary. The gauge or thickness of the material may vary to suit, or the walls may be made of a plurality of layers if desired. If necessary inner or outer linings may be provided. The one condition essential is that the material be sufiiciently porous to permit the im pregnation therewith of sufficient comminuted material capable of hard setting upon the application of water or other liquids.

It is to be understood that the entire slipper A is impregnated with the comminuted material. It may be provided in small, medium and large sizes, since it is thought that three sizes will suffice. Extra small and large slippers may be provided.

In practice, .the flexible powder impregnated form is applied upon the foot and thereafter the operator moistens it and thru manual manipulation the bonding material is worked into a creamy consistency. The operation is continued until the Walls of the slipper are molded into intimate contact with all contours of the foot of the wearer. After the shape of the foot has been assumed the form is permitted to dry and harden upon the foot. Thereafter, the molded form is removed from the foot by skin traction or other methods known to those skilled in the art. After removal it has assumed the shape shown in Figure 3at A. This constitutes a negative from which the positive A", shown in Figure 4, may be cast thru the use of any suitable material such as plaster-of-Paris,

It is within contemplation of this invention to provide preshaped pocketed toe forms for each of the toes of the wearer. They are preshaped in general conformity with the idea above expressed. A large toe pocket form B is shown in Figure 5. material as the form A, the pores of which are filled or impregnated with comminuted material, such as plaster-of-Paris, capable of hard setting upon the application of water. The preshaped It may be of the same porous flexible form B may be made for application upon either the big toe of the foot or any of the other toes; the same being of elongated pocketed shape when opened, and having an entrance opening 20 thereto, in a side wall thereof, to the rear, so that the form may be applied upon the big toe and adjacent base of the foot.

The method of application of the form B upon the big toe or any other toe is substantially the same in every characteristic as that above described for the slipper A in the casting of the human foot. After application of the plasterof-Paris impregnated form upon the toe the same is moistened, as by the application of water and the bonding agent is worked into a creamy consistency until the preshaped form has been intimately molded into contour upon the toe and adjacent part of the foot of the wearer. .After being permitted to set hard, the moulded form is removed in any approved manner, and thus the negative shown at B, in Figure 7, is provided. The positive B" iscast therefrom.

The toe-sizes are preferably each provided in large, medium and small, and may be preshaped to take care of such conditions as small toe corn, Taylor bunion, hammer toe, etc.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that improved means and a method of providing a cast of the human foot or any of the toes thereof has been provided, which will be extremely useful in connection with orthopedic and other work, without using the incidental time consuming, botherwise and inconvenient methods now employed. I

Various changes in the shape, size and ar-- rangement of preshaped form and in the steps of producing the contoured negative and cast positive may be made to the invention as herein set forth without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. The method of reproducing the human foot or a toe thereof which consists of providing a preshaped flexible pocketed form of loosely woven cloth impregnated with powdered plaster-of- Paris, applying the form and the plaster-of-Paris thereof while in dry condition upon the desired 20 foot or toe thereof, applying water to the form and working the plaster-of-Paris into bonding consistency until the form has been intimately molded and shaped to the contour of the foot or toe upon which placed, permitting themolded form while in such shape to harden upon the foot or toe of the wearer, removing the molded negative form from the foot or toe upon which formed, and thereafter casting a'positive from the negative molded form. e l

2. A method of reproducing the human foot or a toe thereof Whirj consists of providing a pre-shaped flexible pocketed form of loosely fabricated cloth impregnated with powdered bonding material of a nature capable of hard setting after the application of moisture thereto, applying the form upon the foot and applying water thereto and working the bonding material into bonding consistency until the form has been intimately moulded and shaped to the contour of the foot or toe upon which placed, permitting the moulded form while in such shape to harden upon the foot or toe of the wearer, removing the moulded negative form from the foot or toe upon which formed, and thereafter casting a positive form from the negative moulded form.

DAVID FRIEDMAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: V

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number Name Date 224,784 Johnstone Feb. 24,1886 538,300 Tracy Apr. 30, 1895 1,351,789 Rowley Sept. 9, 1920 1,647,639 Larson Nov. 1, 1927 FOREIGN PATENTS I Number I Country Date 819,882 France July 19, 1937 

